Nikon D3 Digital-SLR Camera Recipient of DFA Bronze Award

December 8, 2009

Nikon Corporation (Michio Kariya, President) is pleased to announce that the D3 digital-SLR camera is the recipient of a 2009 Design for Asia (DFA) Bronze Award.

The DFA Awards are organized by the Hong Kong Design Centre with the purpose of raising awareness amongst businesses and the public about the value of good design as an essential component in business success, as well as for a sustainable, higher quality of life for all. This year’s winners were selected from approximately 500 commercial products released in one or more Asian markets by manufacturers from the world over during a period of roughly two years and seven months—from January 1, 2007 to July 31, 2009. From these, winners were selected based on superiority of design, degree of impact on the Asian lifestyle, and commercial success.

The DFA Bronze Award winning Nikon D3 (released November 2007) is a flagship model that was the first Nikon digital-SLR to utilize a Nikon FX-format CMOS image sensor (large image sensor that conforms to 35mm [135] film camera angle of view). The D3 is also equipped with an image processing engine based on Nikon’s exclusive image processing concept, EXPEED. It has been extremely well received, primarily by professional users, for its superior image quality, support for high ISO sensitivities, and high-speed performance. The D3’s body was designed under the supervision of world renowned designer, Mr. Giorgetto Giugiaro, based on the conviction that anyone who sees the camera will immediately appreciate its form and value. Nikon’s own design team then thoroughly examined each component to ensure an ergonomic and refined form that maintained ease of operation.

The excellent balance between design and functionality of the D3 has been recognized with a number of awards from prestigious international organizations, including an International Forum (iF) Product Design Award; the red dot Product Design 2009 award presented by the highly reputed German design institution, Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen; the Camera Grand Prix 2008 Camera of the Year Award presented by Japan’s Camera Journal Press Club; the Best D-SLR Professional in Europe 2008 award presented by Europe’s Technical Image Press Association (TIPA); and a European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) Photo Award.

Nikon FX-format digital-SLR cameras that continue the D3 pedigree

Since release of the D3, Nikon has expanded its line of flagship models with development and advanced performance that responds to the strict demands of professional and advanced amateur photographers.

Nikon D3S
The D3S (released November 2009) is the latest flagship model to offer new functions as well as advances in basic performance and operation, beginning with the support for high sensitivities so well received with the D3. It is equipped with a new Nikon FX-format CMOS sensor (36.0 × 23.9 mm) with an effective pixel count of 12.1 million pixels. Support for even higher sensitivities than are possible with the D3 has been added for a wide range of standard sensitivity settings from ISO 200 to 12800. The influence of noise has been minimized to enable shooting at high sensitivities under even extremely dim lighting. In addition, the D3S is equipped with the D-Movie function that includes high-sensitivity movie mode for recording movies at sensitivities up to Hi 3 (ISO 102400 equivalent) and movie editing functions for trimming footage or saving selected frames as JPEG stills. The D3S responds to the strict demands of professional users and advanced amateurs in a number of fields, including the press, and sports and nature photography, with high-speed performance, support for high sensitivities, and superior image quality that respond to a variety of subjects and shooting conditions. It is an all-round model with professional specifications made possible by the latest technologies and reliability for which Nikon is known.

Nikon D3X
The D3X (released December 2008) is a digital-SLR camera that offers the ultimate in definition and image quality with an effective pixel count of 24.5 million pixels. Since its release, it has been extremely well received by professional photographers and the entire camera industry and recognized with the same prestigious awards as the D3 from Europe's EISA and TIPA. The D3X makes images exhibiting the superior definition of medium-format digital cameras possible, responding to the needs of professional users, especially those requiring superior image quality for studio photography. This camera is the best choice for fashion or commercial studio photography that requires excellent definition and superior image quality, as well as for creation of large poster images of detailed, high-resolution landscapes and the like. In addition, as the D3X utilizes the same camera body as the D3, it is also suited to outdoor photography as it is very mobile and offers excellent operation.

The information is current as of the date of publication. It is subject to change without notice.